


The Formation of Team 12

by kohaku_shi



Series: The Extraordinary Art of Motivation [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: A "what if" AU, A study in characterization and character growth, Basically follows Sakura and her team in the TEAM AU, Genin Teams, Genin Test, Haruno Sakura is not on Team 7, Inner Sakura doesn't make her appearance just yet, New Genin Cell, Original Kekkei Genkai | Blood Limit, Original Team, Set in TEAM!Verse, Team 12, Team Bonding, Team Dynamics, or Motivation!Verse if that's what you want to call it, she's still there though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-29
Updated: 2017-08-29
Packaged: 2018-12-21 05:50:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11937657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kohaku_shi/pseuds/kohaku_shi
Summary: Cross-Post from Fanfiction.net"After the Team Placements are announced, Sakura finds herself rejected once more. However, before she can start wallowing in self-pity, her new teammates appear. She's not quite sure how she feels about the two boys just yet, but maybe, just maybe, she can learn to get used to them."Naruto, TEAM!Verse. Interlude 1, Takes Place Between Chapters 01 & 02





	The Formation of Team 12

* * *

**I** t had been soon after Sasuke's rejection that two genin had approached her.

"There you are! We've been looking for you  _everywhere!_ " scowled the dark red haired male, clearly irritated as he half-loped towards Sakura, sharp green eyes that were far darker and murkier than her own glaring at her person.

"What—?" She started, unsure of what to make of the situation until the other male spoke up with a smile.

"Oh, please don't mind Andou-kun, Haruno-san. He's naturally quite easy to rile," the green-haired teen said smoothly, elliptical metal-rimmed glasses flashing in the sunlight. "However, it  _is_  quite off-putting when a new teammate decides to skip the  _time meant for_   _getting to know each other_  to do goodness knows what," the mild mannered boy continued, somehow giving off the feeling of speaking harshly despite the pleasant seeming manner and tone he used.

Beside him, the redhead spluttered, only to be ignored.

"Oh…" Sakura gave the two an embarrassed look, voice small. They were her new teammates, weren't they? She supposed it would have made sense if they'd been wanting to find her to get to know each other, or something… Then again, she  _had_  ended up missing most of what Iruka-sensei had said once she'd started arguing with Naruto.

"Uhm, sorry," she apologized, not quite as defensive as she would have been had the green-haired genin mentioned her running after  _Sasuke_  rather than simply doing 'who knows what'. Something he seemed to have already taken note of, seeing as he hadn't outright said so even if it was hinted at with disapproval.

"Well, I suppose there's no helping it for now, but as we still have some time, perhaps it would be wise to at least get a proper introduction out of the way?" The greenette mused. "I'll even start. Ienari Taiki, at your service, Haruno-san." The genin with stormy gold-flecked eyes gave an almost elaborate bow along with the introduction.

Beside him, the one he'd called 'Andou-kun' snorted. "F— damn pansy," he muttered, only to have to ignore the chill that crawled up his spine at the sharp, crescent eyed smile the green haired genin offered, aura disapproving. " 'm Andou Ryuuichi," he announced brashly, jabbing his thumb towards himself, "and don't you forget it!" The tanned genin scowled. "I hate weak-ass pansies and idiots that try to annoy me. I don't care what you do so long as you don't piss me off," he all but growled, glaring at the wide-eyed pinkette.

" _Andou-kun_ ," Ienari frowned, giving the tallest member of the new three-member cell a disapproving look. Something about the greenette seemed to put the tall redhead off, because he immediately shut his mouth, huffing and scowling, yet only crossing his arms and looking away in response rather than picking a fight like the pinkette would have expected. Offering her a soothing smile, the green haired male spoke once more. "Now that we've introduced ourselves, why don't you take your turn, hmm?"

Sakura had to stop herself from speaking, sure she would be stammering as she wilted a bit. Somehow, she didn't think the two would tolerate anything they perceived as 'nonsense', so she just nodded and kept her introduction short and sweet. "Uhm, I'm Haruno Sakura. It's...nice to meet you, Ienari-kun, Andou-kun. Please take good care of me," she offered, bowing and trying to keep from feeling too awkward as she straightened.

"Che, so long as you don't get in my fucki—" a pointed cough made the redhead pause, "—...my way, I don't care," he amended with a scowl and an equally pointed glare at the greenette that ended up wilting in the face of his impeccably smooth smile and aura of politeness.

Sakura blinked. Were her year mates really all that weird? She wondered almost desperately, hoping that she'd be able to survive being on a team with the two...rather strange males.

"Well, break should be about over soon, so why don't we start heading back now?" Ienari spoke up, still wearing the polite smile that was looking more and more to be like some kind of mask once the awkwardness of the growing silence began to get a bit too much (the bastard didn't look even a little bit uncomfortable, Ryuuichi thought uncharitably).

When the suggestion was only met with a nod and some grumbling, the greenette beamed and turned. "Wonderful! Let's get going then, Umino-sensei should be back soon, anyways. And I'd rather not give our Sensei a  _bad impression_ ," he said, almost pointedly as he turned and began walking back the way he'd come.

Behind him, Sakura valiantly resisted the urge to wince, while the tall redhead beside her scowled, growling and muttering some rather uncharitable comments that Sakura pretended not to hear (she was washing that from her mind. The chances of her letting slip such words and getting in trouble for them was just far too high not to...they were rather impressive, however).

Hopefully their Jounin Sensei would be better than her two teammates, the pinkette sighed, her shorter legs not quite being able to keep up with the taller redhead who was almost a full head taller than both herself and Ienari (who was already a few inches taller than her). As she struggled to keep up with the other two, however, she noted that Andou-kun wasn't walking quite as fast as he had been, considering that Ienari was still a few feet in front of them. Not to mention the slightly red tint that colored the other's cheeks. It was almost...dare she say it...  _cute…_  the pinkette mused, only to startle at her own thoughts.

…Maybe being on Team 12 with these two wouldn't be quite so bad after all.

* * *

 **S** he took that back. Being on Team 12 was going to be  _hell_ , she groaned, trying futilely to scrub a splotch of ink on her dress out. How she had ended up with ink in her clothes, well, it all started the moment they had returned to class and met their Jounin Sensei. She had a feeling that the ink splotches were going to be quite a frequent recurrence, and she really wasn't looking forward to it to be honest...

Everyone had settled into seats, grouping by teams as Iruka-sensei began to introduce some of the Jounin that would be picking up their genin. Most of that passed in a blur, and she recalled seeing Kiba and Ino's teams being taken away by their own teachers, most of them promptly leaving with their students, while a few met and spoke to their new students for a while before leading them away.

Sakura remembered appreciating her own Sensei, and starting to think that it wouldn't be so bad being on the team she was on if they were going to have such a pretty Sensei. That, of course, was a thought that she would soon be regretting, as one Kandou Takatomo-sensei had them gather before them and began to speak, all the while leading them to whatever training ground they would be meeting at.

Apparently their new Jounin Sensei wasn't exactly very  _talkative_  and even the loud member of the group had stayed surprisingly silent the entire time, only scowling when Takatomo-sensei explained that there weren't actually quite Genin  _yet_. Still, the fact that there was to be a test had made Sakura both relieved yet anxious at the same time.

Ienari-kun had had a rather pensive look, while Andou-kun hadn't looked surprised at all. Considering that he did look a bit older, Sakura had to wonder if perhaps Andou had already taken such a test once before. If he had, then perhaps they would have an advantage...that was, if they didn't change it every single time. Of course, that was assuming that each teacher kept to a certain type of test, but...who knew.

Takatomo-sensei hadn't seemed to care very much, expression apathetic despite the strange elegance and grace he seemed to have. Honestly, if he hadn't spoken, she might have simply assumed that he was just a particularly flat or even tomboyish woman (the earrings he wore, as well as the long lashes and full petal pink lips didn't really help with the image, either). Despite being soft spoken, his voice had been very clearly male, and even with the standoffish persona he held, the graceful sweep of  _furisode kimono_ -like sleeves really didn't do much to change anything.

Having been sprung with the 'surprise test' and no other information seeing as he hadn't really done much more than to tell them what they were to aim for and a time limit, it was surprising that they'd been able to do so well at all. Much of the time spent 'testing' for lack of a better word, had been the trio doing what they could to avoid being 'marked' by the Sensei while trying to get at least a single hit in each.

The slow, tiny smile that had formed on the Jounin's face had almost been worth it, when they'd managed to finally hit the man with a nonlethal paint bomb that Andou-kun had (surprisingly) rigged, while Ienari and herself had done their best to distract the man (mainly as distractions and decoys, though Sakura had mainly been a decoy and had had to do quite a bit of dodging while Ienari tried to trap and restrict the man as much as possible). As a Jounin, she doubted that he hadn't been holding back, but the fact that they had managed to work together so well in such a 'spur of the moment' thing…

Sakura couldn't help the pride that had welled up when the man had spoken two words that all of them had instinctively known would be a very rare thing to hear from the green-haired man.

A gentle "...Good job," had been all that had accompanied the tiny smile on the effeminate man's face, before they'd been given a time and place to meet the next day. As soon as that had been done, their new official Sensei had quite literally disappeared in a whirl of wind, leaving only the three newly minted Genin on the field.

For a moment, Sakura had simply stared in disbelief, not quite computing that they had actually  _passed_. Behind her, the paler green haired genin shared a look with the redhead, before the pinkette finally noticed and the looks turned into almost identical looks of joyful realization.

They had passed, and starting tomorrow, they would be well on the path to becoming Chuunin, maybe even Jounin themselves sometime in the future. Either way, they were now officially  _ninja_. Sakura couldn't help but to beam, seeing that the hard-to-read Ienari-kun seemed to be wearing quite a satisfied look, and even the normally scowling (in so far as she was aware, at least) Andou-kun had been grinning and sharing in the excitement that had bubbled up between them all.

None of them could quite stem the laughter that seemed to follow, each of them simply basking in the small show of approval from their new  _Jounin Sensei_ , and they were officially Genin and the new Team 12! It was almost exhilarating, much more so than simply passing the Academy Graduation test and receiving their Hitaeate. Perhaps it was because they actually felt like a cohesive team now, having managed to land a hit on a  _Jounin_. Granted, it had been as a team of three, but considering that they had only just made Genin, none of them had any doubt that, one day, they'd be able to fight other Jounin on their own someday…

* * *

 **A** ndou Ryuuichi was a bit brash for a Ninja, and he knew it. It wasn't quite so easy to change himself, however, and Ryuuichi refused to let himself live a lie, either. Perhaps things would have been easier if he wasn't quite so... _honest_ , but considering that anyone who was scared off before even the scratching the surface of his personality probably wasn't worth his time anyway, he couldn't particularly bring himself to care about it very much.

...No matter that his mother might nag about it.

Still, the redhead wasn't actually quite as bad (or rude) as he seemed, as evidenced when one paid attention and took note of the fact that he wasn't actually a bad person. In fact, he could be quite polite, but he didn't like people thinking he was 'weak' or 'soft', leading to something of a...tsundere-ish...reaction whenever anyone actually took  _note_  that he was actually much, much nicer than he seemed.

Something Sakura had begun to notice when Ryuuichi slowed down upon noticing the pinkette's difficulty in keeping up with the two taller (and definitely longer legged) males. Of course, the fact that  _Taiki_  took note and seemed to be quite blatantly willing to take advantage of the other male was something that the redhead disliked. Oh, he knew he was being played by the sneaky green haired bastard, but some reactions were so ingrained, and the redhead was so prideful, that he ended up playing right into the Megane's hands.

Not to mention the fact that Ienari Taiki seemed to be almost the antithesis to himself. If Ryuuichi was the 'honest delinquent' type, then Taiki was that one sneaky, manipulative bastard of a 'gentleman' that most never seemed to suspect was actually the backstabber. Though Ryuuichi disliked the greenette, however, he would quite grudgingly admit that the other was skilled, and  _good_  at what he did. Even if almost everything about him seemed to be a lie.

The fucking hypocrite. He was quite sure the fact that insofar Ryuuichi had been the only one to notice the other's 'true nature' had amused the other male beyond measure, but considering the fact that Ryuuichi was far more observant than most would accredit, perhaps that wasn't quite so surprising.

As it was, however, Ryuuichi  _would_  be forced to deal with the four-eyed bastard among all the other students that he could've been paired with. Of course, considering that Haruno was on the team as well…

Well, nothing against the pinkette, but he'd  _seen_  her amongst the rabid fangirls that followed the last Uchiha around, and nothing irritated him more than obsessively loud, irrational, and  _shrieky_  idiots. Thankfully it didn't seem to be a full time thing, considering she'd apparently been top among the kunoichi in the class, but he had no doubt it was more the fact that she was likely some kind of bookworm than anything else.

It had been a pleasant surprise to see that she could be...somewhat...logical outside the influence of  _Uchiha Sasuke_ , but she clearly didn't have all her marbles if she was pining after a broody emo of an idiot. Not that he'd say so out loud, of course, he knew better than to offend one of the shrieking harpies that were  _fangirls_.

Suppressing a shudder, Ryuuichi tried not to twitch at the thought. Honestly, though, he'd noticed that she hadn't really eaten much during the lunch break (seriously, the fuck was that even considered a meal? Even if she was a  _girl_ , she was a  _growing_  girl and should have been taking in at least two or three times that much to not only keep her energy up but also to actually, y'know,  _grow_ ). Physical ability would be the  _least_  of her concerns if she couldn't keep up a healthy weight and amount of energy to even  _do_  anything.

Mentally scowling at the thought, he turned a critical eye to the clearly still happily beaming female...before grudgingly turning sharp eyes to the weirdly  _honest_  emotion that the last member of their team wore. Fucking Ienari, gave him the  _creeps_.

Still, Ryuuichi wouldn't let that keep him from taking a critical eye to the other as well. Taiki was far more likely than Haruno to at least attempt to eat balanced meals, but as with most teenagers, he doubted the other ate quite as healthily as he believed, if he was eating store-bought food all the time.

Quickly coming to a decision he nodded to himself, catching the other's attention. Once it came time to actually  _do_  something, though… the redhead started to falter, as he realized that he hadn't really thought about how to  _word_  things so he didn't come off as a...weirdo…

...Well, they probably already thought that, so what the heck. Why not. In for a penny in for a pound, as they might say. Or, well,  _something_  like that.

"...so, since we're, uh, officially a team, d'you guys wanna…I dunno," he muttered, mentally bashing his head against a wall. Seriously, the fuck? How hard could it be to just  _ask_  such a simple kami-damned question? Taking a breath, he looked back at the two curious Genin before him. "Want to come over to my place for dinner?" he said instead, automatically averting his eyes as his cheeks flushed.

Mentally sighing because he was probably going to be considered really,  _really_  weird if he didn't say anything else (or, worse, be seen as  _soft_ ), he tacked on a half-mumbled half-truth. "Ma wanted to meet my new teammates anyways," he muttered awkwardly.

Glancing quickly at the two while pretending not to actually look at them, he saw that Haruno seemed to be looking hesitant, while the greenette merely looked thoughtful before shrugging.

"Sure, why not?" The greenette answered, seemingly completely at ease despite his curiosity…

* * *

 **I** t had surprised him, to be honest. Being asked over by the one person that seemed to be most in tune with his  _actual_  self (and not the persona or any of the masks he wore) and yet seemed to all but despise him, Taiki really couldn't be sure whether it was simply amusement or curiosity that played the greater part of his decision. Honestly speaking he  _was_  quite curious, and it wasn't like he had any other plans anyway.

It wasn't as if his parents would be home, after all. Having two actively working parents (one ninja and one 'civilian' merchant), Taiki had spent much of him time alone or reading to relieve the boredom and loneliness he'd felt as a child. Even now, the culmination of the polite 'masks' he wore were mainly worn because not only did it allow him greater leeway, but really, what else could he do when he didn't even know who he really was? Oh, he  _knew_  he was Ienari Taiki, child of Ienari Daichi and Ienari (nee Kazuma) Kaya. He knew that he read a lot, and could be both polite and manipulative. Something he'd no problems with being, but was there anything else to him? He didn't have any particular preferences in food, and it wasn't like he particularly  _liked_ reading. But what else was there to do aside from training?

Nothing, really. And it wasn't like he had any particular hobbies...aside from satisfying whatever curiosity he had, to be honest. But Taiki preferred to think before doing, unlike the seeming knucklehead that was Andou. Then again, it was just so  _easy_  to push the redhead's buttons even when said  _redhead_  was aware of it yet still falling for it anyways. Maybe he'd pushed and poked and prodded just a bit too much, though, since the other seemed to resent him, despite still showing 'care'.

Because he had no doubt that even if Andou Ryuuichi hated someone, he would still be the type to help and look out for others when he could. He wasn't quite sure if Andou would even be able to actually  _kill_  someone, but considering that he had chosen to become a ninja, Taiki assumed that he'd at least thought about the possibility.

Then again, even if they would be forced to kill at least once in their lives, that didn't mean that would be all they would be doing. As Genin, it was doubtful that they would have to unless it was some sort of bodyguard duty, but incapacitation was also quite a viable method. Aside from that, however…

Well, once they reached a high enough rank, it was quite possible to pick and choose or even settle into a non-combative position. (Chuunin Sensei and the casually dubbed 'Paperwork Ninja' were all quite viable positions, after all.) Still, it was quite amusing that the other would be worried about the wellbeing of someone he quite clearly disliked. It was...charming, he supposed. There really wasn't another word he could think of off the top of his head, to be honest. Something that chagrinned the almost golden-eyed teen. He was sure that Haruno was part of the reason as well, seeing as she was much thinner than was probably healthy. No doubt some sort of dieting fad, though it was something that could very well prove fatal in the future if she kept it up. Especially considering their chosen occupations.

Not that Taiki particularly cared, considering that she was simply a placeholder. It wasn't like Taiki was very closely tied to his emotions, either. He might be able to fake all the necessary responses, but he was also quite aware that he had difficulty building and retaining attachments, hence the friendly not-actually-friends-more-like-acquaintances that he held. Of course, if he could be bothered to, he could quite easily recall every person and situation that he'd encountered.

He wasn't sure if it was a side effect of whatever kekkei genkai his father might have possessed (something that apparently caused the manifestation of the pale yellowish —almost golden— eyes in both the man and himself), but it was both a blessing and a burden as it meant that, if he felt like it, he could recall almost anything. Of course, it'd only really 'solidified' as an ability when his eyes had started shifting from their previous grey to gold.

It would definitely explain quite a bit, seeing that he took quite a bit after his father, even if the man preferred to keep his mask blank, rather than the persona that Taiki had built to deal with the masses. After all, why not take advantage of every little bit that he could? Honestly, sometimes he wondered how his parents had even met, and how they'd ended up married as it was. With his mother being what was basically the heir of a small mercantile family, while his father came from a line of ninja that had been 'encouraged' to populate (which hadn't really happened considering just how small the 'clan' was. To be honest, they were barely even a clan, seeming only to have a few members ever at a time), he could assume that it had probably been on some job that they'd met or something. That or his mother could quite possibly be one of the 'failed' Genin who had ended up returning and continuing on as a merchant's daughter or something.

...To be honest, Taiki had never asked, but now he was just plain curious. Maybe he'd ask at some point...more likely he'd ask his mother whenever she returned, though. No doubt she'd schedule things so that they'd all be there to 'celebrate' his graduation. For now, though, he was apparently going to be taking dinner at Ryuuichi's home, and he was quite curious to see just where the other lived.

Oh, he knew the general area, but Taiki really wasn't all that much into stalking someone unless it was a necessitated part of 'work' (or a mission). Any projects the two had had to work on together had been at Ienari's home or elsewhere (such as the school or some other place), so he'd never had a chance to take a look. Now, however…

Eyes all but boring into the redhead as he continued to think, the greenette ignored the sudden shiver the redhead gave in response to said look...

* * *

 **S** akura had been hesitant to accept, but she really didn't want to be rude either. And she doubted her mother would mind too much, but…

"Would it be okay if I stopped by my house to let my parents know, first?" she asked, trying not to wring her hands as she stared at the ink on her skirt. Maybe she'd be able to change as well, especially if her mother dragged the two boys in for a 'chat'. No doubt her father would be home soon as well, though when  _exactly_  that would be, she wasn't quite sure either.

She was pretty sure they wouldn't mind her having dinner at a teammate's home, though. Her parents had already 'celebrated' her Academy Graduation with her, after all. She did wonder if they knew about the 'Genin Test' that the Jounin Sensei apparently gave out, but...well, she was sure that would be something for another time.

Mentally flailing a bit at the long silence that followed her question, she was almost relieved when she heard the snort that Andou-kun had emitted. Even if it ended up being a negative, at least he was saying  _something_  now.

"That's fine. I should probably let m— the ol' lady know that we'll be having guests, but she usually makes a ton of food anyways, so even if she doesn't get the forewarning, I'm pretty sure there'll be plenty of food, anyway," said the redhead, sharp, narrow green eyes seeming more amused than annoyed or calculating. The last being something that she'd only seen during the test, when he'd been studying their Sensei's movements and rigging different 'trap' or 'trick' items.

It had been surprising to learn that the seeming muscle head was actually far more intelligent than he appeared, but then, Sakura  _did_  know that she had a little bit of a bad habit with 'judging' people. A habit that died hard it seemed, but still, startled by the amount he'd spoken and seemingly without any annoyance, she couldn't help but smile, only to become amused when she saw the somewhat flustered look on the other's face.

It wasn't nearly as bad as when their Sensei had smiled, but then, she was pretty sure all three of them had been at least a little thrown off kilter. Sakura hadn't been able to help the slight flush that had appeared when she'd seen the tiny but warm smile that their Sensei had given them, though part of it  _might_  have been from the 'praise' they'd been given as well. And she was pretty sure she'd seen a slight dusting of pink on Ienari's cheeks as well as the slightly widened eyes he'd sported behind the thinly rimmed glasses he wore.

Hearing said person chuckle beside her, she turned her attention to the greenette, curious about just why he seemed so amused. As she did, she missed the shiver and slight step back that Andou had taken.

"If that's all decided, shall we head off, then? I'm sure Haruno-san wouldn't mind changing once she gets back as well. I can just take off my jacket, but I'm pretty sure that Haruno-san got hit a few times by the ink bombs Kandou-sensei used earlier."

Blushing slightly in embarrassment, Sakura tried to keep the flush down as much as she could. It was true, after all, and she really didn't want to think about the ink that had likely bled through and onto her skin. If she had the chance, she would definitely be soaking the entire thing in a tub or something, so she could get the ink out easier when she washed it later.

Being the one that had been the decoy more often than not, and also not being quite as fast as Ienari-kun, she had taken quite a few hits despite her best efforts. She had been closest, after all. It wasn't like she'd been able to help much, seeing as the other two were just as intelligent as —if not smarter in certain areas than— she was. Part of it had been due to the fact that she had been the only one on the team that hadn't worked with either of the other two before, while Ienari and Andou had both apparently worked together before.

Honestly, the most she  _could_  contribute to the team —for the moment, at least— was her memory and as a distraction. Especially seeing as Ienari seemed to have about as good a memory as she did, even if it mainly covered different things. They all had different interests and skillsets, after all.

Sakura almost regretted not training harder physically, to be honest. In fact the only other things she really had going for herself was the fact that she had the highest chakra control, even if it was simply because she had less of it  _to_  control.

Breaking herself out of her thoughts when an annoyed "tsk" sounded, she turned her quizzical look back towards the tallest member of the team.

"Yeah, yeah. If that's the case let's just get going," the redhead scowled, as if it could hide the slight redness of his cheeks, as he looked at her before looking away again, turning and walking towards the exit they'd arrived from. "So? The hell's your place, anyway?" He grumbled, seeming to fall back on the irate 'totally not being nice' facade that he seemed to wear more out of habit than anything.

Honestly, she wasn't quite sure why he seemed to find the fact that he was such a nice person so embarrassing. But if she'd known him better, maybe she would have teased him about it. In fact, Ienari was wearing a rather amused look, as if he was contemplating doing just such a thing.

Sakura quickly decided to try heading  _that_  disaster off before Andou actually  _did_  explode. Whether from rage or something else, she wasn't quite sure she wanted to know.

"Oh, uhm! It's this way!" She started, scurrying after the genin that was at least a half a head taller than her.

Hopefully nothing bad would happen. But she would keep an eye on both of them, and try to stay between them as much as possible to avoid any more 'explosions'. The last time Andou-kun had started ranting, it had lasted for far longer than ten minutes, and she had no desire to repeat the near-loss of hearing that had occurred due to the tirade. Especially considering that he seemed to be quite fond of cursing when he was aggravated as well.

…

Hopefully Ienari-kun would decide against poking the ticking time bomb that was Andou-kun for the rest of the day, at least. There was no way she wanted to deal with any of the fallout just yet. She almost hoped that none of them would be morning people, if only because mornings were just too early to deal with any of the people that were her Genin team.

Behind the two, Ienari Taiki followed at a leisurely pace, far too amused at the obvious thought patterns of his two teammates.

At least it seemed that things would be interesting, especially considering who his teammates were. Really, Ienari couldn't really ask for too much more, considering his propensity for boredom.

**Author's Note:**

> Interlude 1, 'The Formation of Team 12' or 'Sakura meets her new Genin Team'. Takes place between 'Team Placement' and the 'Bell Test' Arc. I left this for the end, so you wouldn't have to skip the info-dump to read it. Whether you choose to read the notes if up to you, of course.
> 
> Based off the thoughts of "What about Sakura?" now that Kohaku's replaced her on Team 7. After all, as most of us know, Sakura has the ability to become great in this series if she's just given the chance… so why snip that bud before it can even bloom? (Or rather, why not see where it goes, and whether she can still be as awesome as her future Canon-Self?)
> 
> And thus Team 12 was born! Of course, as you can probably guess, this one's made up of mainly OC's, though technically one of them is a really, really minor (super minor) background character that literally only appeared in one panel of the manga back in the very beginning. 
> 
> Being the dork I am, I've twisted said character into the one that appears here, but… eh, that sort of counts as something between original and canon if I made up most of the information about him anyway, I guess... Sort of.
> 
> As per usual, I don't own NARUTO, and probably never will aside from whatever paraphernalia that can be legally bought and owned… (I think I've got Kakuzu's ring in the mess that is my room somewhere...and some kind of Necklace or something aside from poster freebies that came with things).
> 
> But I digress, this takes place between Chapters 1 and 2, so I guess you could technically call it "Chapter 1.5" since it could actually happen during the story. It doesn't quite fit in the story, but can still be considered part of the main TEAM!Verse. You're free to consider this part of or separate from the main story as you like, though.
> 
> Anyways, this is mostly world-building and, as stated earlier a 'what happens to Sakura now' kind of thing. I'm sort of hoping that time away from being a fangirl and around guys that don't really care about that sort of thing will help, but I guess we'll see? Either way I've become quite attached to the dorks on Sakura's team, and even did a thing for them (I'll try to add the link or image at the bottom or as a separate 'file'/post later if anyone's interested, I guess). 
> 
> Still, hopefully you all enjoyed this and won't kill me for it, but as per usual, this was self-beta'd.


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